Eco-friendly Product: Evaluating Steamed Ecoprint Training’s Usefulness, Impact, and Contribution to the Green Economy

¹ Department of Accounting, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta, Indonesia
² Department of Accounting, Janabadra University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
³ Department of Fashion Design, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta, Indonesia
⁴ Department of International Relations, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: ika@janabadra.ac.id

Abstract

Steaming ecoprint, a natural fabric printing method utilizing plant-derived dyes, provides ecological benefits and income-generating opportunities for rural areas. This study seeks to evaluate the usefulness, perceived influence, and contribution to the green economy of steaming ecoprint training offered to women in Jaranan, Panggungharjo, Sewon, Bantul. The program aimed to enhance participants’ production skills, promote community empowerment, and assist Ayik Ecoprint SME in fulfilling huge market demand. Twenty-three women participated in an interactive training program that imparted technical production skills, sustainable material sourcing, and business management techniques. This study employed a 5-point Likert scale grounded on empowerment and sustainability frameworks to assess three key variables before and after training: usefulness, perceived impact, and contribution to the green economy. Paired-sample t-tests with a 95% confidence level were employed to evaluate the difference in scores. Significant improvements were observed in all metrics: perceived usefulness, impact, and contribution to the green economy. Qualitative feedback revealed that participants acquired practical skills, increased confidence in product marketing, and elevated environmental awareness. The findings indicate that steaming ecoprint training markedly enhances women’s skill relevance, livelihood outcomes, and environmental accountability, hence aligning Sustainable Development Goals 5, 8, and 12. This work contributes to the field by introducing a measurement approach for evaluating the effectiveness of ecoprint training in the green economy, an area that has been absent in prior research. The initiative demonstrates the need of conducting training within a Quadruple Helix cooperation involving academia, industry, government, and civil society.